Ahhh… Drinking proper tea with proper milk from a proper cup adds a much-needed dose of civility to any situation, don’t you think?

As most people already know, last weekend saw me go out and do what I’ve been threatening to do for a while, and buy a Canon EOS 300D camera. And I am chuffed to bits with it. It’s immediately apparent that it is just – physically – better than my old camera. Pictures are smooth and detailed and BIG. It’s also like a home from home, as I have used Canon EOSes before (albeit film variations). The major (picture taking) controls are the same, although obviously it has a few additions to handle the digital business. My only minor quibble is the same as everyone else’s really – it does feel a little bit fragile in the hand, especially compared to Ant’s bulletproof, concrete-denting Olympus E10. But then, I don’t plan to throw my camera around too much ;o)

My first day out with the thing was a leisurely walk along the Stour at Grove Ferry. The rest of the pictures are here, but I’ve picked out some highlights below.

Tomorrow marks the one week wedding anniversary of my good friends Ian and Alex Covey. They were married last weekend on a wonderful day in sunny Birmingham. I wish them the very best for the future, and I know they will achieve whatever they want to.

Congratulations, guys – and I hope you like your window tins )

More pictures from the day

A week on, and the office is quite quiet and, more distressingly, coffee machineless. It seems the company we lease the machine from finally gave in to our ‘let us out of the contract’ pleas, and unceremoniously came and switched the thing off last week. We’re now in caffeine-limbo until our new machine arrives and is installed, meaning that we have to brave the canteen next door for our fixes for the next few weeks. Oh the humanity. Oh the hostility.

The lovely Mary’s post summed up what has been a busy but very satisfying week. There was (and still is) lots to do, but it feels like we’re getting there. Rooms are becoming rooms again, losing their slightly warehousey feel. Bathroom and BLUE bedroom look pretty stunning (if we do say so ourselves), and the kitchen is getting there. Last night even saw me re-hanging net curtains, and, dare I say it, using the Dyson!

Right now I am waiting to see if a re-rolled WAR file deploys properly (we would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you pesky DTDs), trying to figure out why a cron job doesn’t work properly (yes, even when the script is executable), and thinking about doing some documentation to round the day off. What are you up to, fair reader?